J20 vs J40
J20 (Acute bronchitis) compared with J40 (Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. J20 carries an Excludes1 note covering J40: “bronchitis NOS (J40)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
No — do not report together. J20 carries an Excludes1 note covering J40: “tracheobronchitis NOS (J40)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
No — do not report together. J40 carries an Excludes1 note covering J20: “acute bronchitis (J20.-)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| J20Acute bronchitis | J40Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | Billable |
| Classification | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) |
| Definition | Acute bronchitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J20). | Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (J40). |
| Includes | acute and subacute bronchitis (with) bronchospasm acute and subacute bronchitis (with) tracheitis acute and subacute bronchitis (with) tracheobronchitis, acute acute and subacute fibrinous bronchitis | Bronchitis NOS Bronchitis with tracheitis NOS Catarrhal bronchitis Tracheobronchitis NOS |
| Use additional code | — | code to identify: exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22) exposure to tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (P96.81) |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources